Dove Interiors Carpet One Floor & Home has been collecting used cell phones that might otherwise be thrown away or forgotten for several years now. The cell phones go to Cell Phones for Soldiers, a national program that provides free talk-time minutes to U.S. military personnel overseas. As Joan Miller, store owner, says, “Just about everybody has a drawer full of old cell phones somewhere in their house.” At Dove Interiors Carpet One Floor & Home, they’re making it easier to clean out that drawer and help a good cause.

Cell Phones for Soldiers, now a 501 C-3 non-profit charity, was started by two teenagers, Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Mass., when they were 12 and 13, after they heard a news report that a soldier in Iraq had received a $7,600 cell phone bill from calling home. Now connected to all six branches of U.S. military; Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy and National Guard, Cell Phones for Soldiers provides 60 minutes of free international calling for every used cell phone donated.

So far, Dove Interiors Carpet One Floor & Home has sent over 400 phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers. That’s 400 hours of talk time for soldiers and 400 cell phones that won’t end up in a landfill.

Dove Interiors Carpet One Floor & Home provides an easy drop off location for anyone in South County Florida. Cell phones can be dropped off at Dove Interiors Carpet One Floor & Home, 2305 College Ave. E. (State Road 674) in Ruskin.

To find out more about Cell Phones for Soldiers, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Meanwhile, don’t just drop that old cell phone in a drawer when you replace it and don’t throw it away. Help a soldier stay in touch.